


Still here

by JustAnnie



Category: The Tribe (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 20:17:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7375930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnnie/pseuds/JustAnnie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of what happened to Ryan and Patsy, and why they never returned. Missing scene/moment fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still here

**Author's Note:**

> This was written several years ago and has been shared other places, so you might have read it before.

This was the hardest thing he had ever had to face. There was nothing that could ever have prepared him for something as painful as this. Ryan knew she wouldn't make it, his little girl would be gone in just days. He smiled to himself, knowing that if he had called her that out loud she would object. Patsy was no little girl, she was all grown up. But looking down at her, hidden under blankets and leaves, she looked even younger then when he first met her. Only her face was visible, he had covered her up so she wouldn't be cold. She always complained about being cold when she was awake, even though she had a high fever.

Patsy whimpered in her sleep, like she always did. He didn't know what nightmares were haunting her, but the look on her face always told him he didn't want to know. Gently he started stroking her hair, until she opened her eyes, and gave him a smile.

"You're still here," her voice was barely louder then a whisper, and he had to lean down to hear.

"I'm not leaving you. I promised you that when we found each other in the camp, remember? I'll always be here,' he told her as he helped her sit up. He handed over the water bottle, but she barely drank any of it.

"You have to keep strong, Patsy. Drink up," he tried to be encouraging, but she shook her head. When she looked at him he could see tears in her eyes.

"I don't want to die!" She started to sob, and he put his arm around her.

"You won't, I'm not going to let you die, Pats." He couldn't decide if the sound she made was a sob or a laugh.

"There's nothing you can do about it, Ryan." She looked up at him, and smiled sadly. "I promised myself that as soon as I got out, I would look for Cloe. And for Paul." Patsy's voice was suddenly stronger. "Remember that guy we met in the camp? He knew Paul; it had to have been Paul, right?" Her voice cracked, and she looked up at Ryan again.

"Yeah, I think so. Deaf kid, around the time he disappeared...the way he described him, it sure sounded like Paul," Ryan had to smile. He remembered how Patsy's face lit up when she realised her brother was ok.

"And Cloe? I wanted so badly to find her, and make sure everything was ok. But I'm never going to see her again," she started sobbing again.

"Don't say that. She's out there, we'll find her. As soon as we get you better, we'll find them both. And then we'll go home to the mall, to see Salene again," he promised Patsy that, even though he didn't want to see Salene again.

He knew she had lost the baby, one of the guards delivered a message from Lieutenant Luke. The guard who told him seemed genuinely upset, and Ryan had learned that some of the Chosen actually did want to make the world a better place, they just got caught up with the wrong people. Some were the complete opposite; the girl in his arms was proof of that. Scars, infected wounds, dehydration, exhaustion. She was a traitor, and had been treated ten times worse then any other prisoner, and slowly they were killing her. Ryan only hoped Cloe had been luckier with her punishment.

He managed to force Patsy to eat something, before she fell asleep again. He looked towards the mountains in the distance, the view of the sunset obscured by the tears in his eyes. He only let himself cry when Patsy was asleep; he couldn't let her see how scared he was. He had done everything he could. He kept her warm, made sure she was in the sun during the day, and held her in his arms at night to share his body heat. He barely ate anything from the little they had of food and gave it all to her, even though she threw up most of it. He cleaned her wounds the best he could, with water from the river nearby. But none of it was enough. She only got worse every day, and he had to face up to the fact that she was going to die.

That didn't mean he had to let her know though. She was going to die knowing that he never gave up on her, no matter what.

 

A few mornings later, Ryan woke up to a beautiful day. There was not a cloud in sight, and the sun was shining brightly, reflecting on the river floating peacefully along nearby.

Ryan had no time to enjoy this though, when he noticed how cold Patsy was. She had been clinging to his arm, but he easily freed himself from her. He shook her carefully, calling out her name. The pained expression on her face stayed the same. He started sobbing, still calling out her name.

It took hours before he calmed down. He walked down to the river, cooling his face down in the water. He found a thick branch, and started digging a hole underneath the three by the riverside. Patsy had said it was beautiful there when they first found this place.

After putting her in the ground, he carved out her name on the tree with a sharp rock. He wanted to add something more, something meaningful, or something she would appreciate. He couldn't find the right words, and decided on just picking some flowers instead. He couldn't bring himself to hold a speech either. He felt she deserved one, but there was nothing he could say and no one there to hear it but the birds. So he left it at that, and got a few hours sleep before he moved on.

He walked for days, knowing he was getting close to the city. He had no wish to go there really; he wasn't ready for that yet. But where else could he go?

 

It was on the fifth day he ran into the horse traders. He had run out of food on the second day, and was starving. In exchange for helping them out with one of their carriages, they gave him something to eat. Pony-Joe offered to let him join, since he seemed like a good worker. Ryan really did consider it, until he ended up talking to Moon later that night.

"Where were you headed when we found you?" She asked curiously.

"To the city I guess," he sighed, fixing his eyes on the fire.

"Is there anyone waiting for you there?"

He looked at her, unsure of what to answer. Would Salene be waiting for him? He doubted it, she hadn't loved him the way he loved her. And without the baby, she would have no commitment to wait for him. Lex? They had been through a lot together, but he didn't think Lex would really miss him if he never came back. Maybe the others would think about him fondly now and then, remembering the dumb and faithful Ryan who had once been in their tribe, but they wouldn't really miss him. The only ones worth going back for would be Cloe and Patsy. Now Patsy was dead, and Cloe was out there somewhere.

"No," he finally replied. "I think they?ll be just fine without me."

"Then why do you need to think about coming with us?" Moon smiled. "It's not what I dreamed of, but it's good enough for now," she didn't seem too convinced herself of that. "Do you have bigger dreams?"

"I used to," Ryan shrugged, images flashing through his mind of a child running into his arms, Salene smiling. "But too much has happened since that. Guess I see the world differently now," he sighed.

Moon put a comforting hand on his arm, and opened her mouth to say something. She was interrupted by Pony-Joe calling for her. She sighed and gave Ryan a stiff smile, before walking over to him. Ryan was gone the next morning. Moon woke up to find a note left in her tent.

 

_Don't give up on your dreams._   
_-Ryan_

 

Moon's talk about dreams had made him realise what he needed to do. He didn't have any dreams of his own left, but Patsy had dreams. He was going to find Cloe and Paul, and make sure they were ok. Then he could bring them back to the mall for a memorial for Patsy, with all the people she loved there.

He could see the city in the distance, and he smiled to himself. One day he'd be back there again.


End file.
